MontagueMA.net offers Banner and Button Advertising
Top-of-page banner ads appear on every page in direct proportion to the number of ads on the site, ie; if there’s five top-of-page advertisers, then each ad will show up 1/5th of the time. If you click around the site, you will see each ad, one after another, appear at the top of each page. A total of ten ads appear in this area.
Side-of-page button ads appear on every page, period. They do not rotate with other advertisers, and a total of five slots are sold.
Having a website for your business is not a prerequisite to running an ad. Your advertisement can link to an existing website, or to your free business listing on the montaguema.net website (which is the default).
You must, however, have a business listing to run a banner advertisement on this site. The banner ads are attached to the listings for easier administration. You can then edit your listing, change the image used if you uploaded more than one image, and see how many times the advertisement has been seen and how many times it has been clicked on.
Businesses who purchase banner ad space on montaguema.net will have their business listing display in a bolder color and be moved to the top of the search results order on the Businesses page.
Who can advertise
Frankly, anyone. Preference is given to local folks, but those who have an interest in the Franklin County market space are encouraged to advertise.
Four steps to advertising on MontagueMA.net:
- Set up a user account
Everything on this website revolves around users and their assets. Users can own multiple businesses and be a member of multiple groups. You can’t do much on this website unless you’re a member. Membership is free, and simple to set up. If you’re not already a member, set up an account now (link will open a new window).
- Create a business listing
All banner ads are based on a business listing. Listings are free too, but you have to set one up. It’s easy. If you don’t already have a business listing, create a business listing now (link will open a new window).
- Request a banner advertisement
When editing the directory listing click the "Request Banner Ad" link. Set the start and end dates for the ad, the webpage the banner ad should link to, and the image to use. If you don’t have any images already uploaded to our servers (as an advertiser you can build a library of images to rotate at will) and don’t have any on hand to upload, we can create one or more for you pretty quickly and cheaply. At $50/hr it’s pretty cheap considering an ad image doesn’t take more than a half hour to create.
- Payment
Payment may be made via PayPal to pay@montaguewebworks.com, or via check to: Montague WebWorks, 20 River Street, Greenfield, MA 01301. Please make sure to tell us what the check is for!
The Advertising Rates
In 2005 the MontagueMA.net website received thousands of page views every day, with the week-day average around 2,000 page views, spiking up to 5,000 page views when something’s happening in town. Each top-of-page banner ad receives a portion of all that traffic, and each side-of-page button ad receives ALL of that traffic.
- A top-of page banner ad is $25 per month, $60 per quarter or $220 per year, with a one-time setup charge of $20.
- A side-of-page button ad is $60 per month, $150 per quarter or $550 per year, with a one-time setup charge of $20.
Multiple ads may be purchased to be used in conjunction or as independant ads.
Deadlines for a new ad is seven calendar days before the start of a new month. Ads run from the 1st to the last day of each month, regardless of how many days there are in a particular month (no discounts for February). Ads started in the middle of a month are charged from the beginning of that current month. We do not pro-rate start dates.
The Advertising Specs
- Top-of-page banner adverts should be 468 pixels wide by 60 pixels tall.
- Side-of-page button ads should be 120 pixels wide by 160 pixels tall.
We prefer no animations, but if you require it we request that it not be of a garish nature. Subtle and slow. We accept jpg, gif and png files.
If you are not able to create an image file, we can create one for you at minimal cost. Mail over a small ad and we will do our best to scan it or reproduce it at $60 per hour.
Advertisers are given a "library" to upload their graphics to, which may be swapped out at will. This means you can pre-load your library with several weeks worth of ads and simply log in to select which one to use at a particular time, ie; weekly specials or movie schedule, etc.
Where your advertising dollars go
Advertising revenue will pay our Internet and server bill, and allow us to purchase additional online software to enhance our services and advertising space in local radio ads, which in turn will bring additional people to the website, improving your reach and advertisement’s effectiveness. We also hire interns to post calendar events for us, ensuring there is a constant stream of new content on the website.
100% of your advertising dollars will go right back into maintaining and upgrading the website.
If you are interested in advertising, please contact Mik. You can also call him at (413) 320-5336